World

China detains 380 in month-long Xinjiang terror sweep

BEIJING (Reuters) - Authorities in China's far-flung western region of Xinjiang have detained 380 people and busted 32 terror cells in a month-long crackdown on violence, state media said on Monday, following an upsurge in attacks blamed on Islamist militants.

China has been toughening its response after a spate of bloody incidents nationwide centred on Xinjiang, the traditional home of the Muslim Uighurs.

China has blamed previous attacks on Islamist separatists in the region, who, it says, want to establish an independent state there called East Turkestan.

The official Legal Daily said 315 people had been tried for terror-related offences, at least 13 of whom have been executed, an announcement made last week. Six police officers had died on the job as well, the report added.

Tohti, who taught at a university in Beijing, was known for championing the rights of the Uighurs.

His lawyer, Li Fangping, said last week that Tohti might already have been tried and sentenced in public.

This had not happened, however, Li wrote on Monday on the Chinese mobile social network WeChat, adding that Tohti's case had only been handed over to the prosecutor, a necessary preliminary to a trial.